What is a positive attitude?

According to Merriam -Wester Dictionary, it defines a positive attitude stating “ it is a mental

position with regard to a fact or state; a feeling or emotion toward a fact or state.

To what extent do you have it? If you have a positive attitude, what actions
might you display? How do you communicate it? 
I generally live my life with a positive attitude. Life is full of trial an error that can set you back
emotionally and mentally. However if you can stop and take a look at all those obstacles as a life
learning experience , you will have a mindset of at finding the good out of all of it.
A significant part of my job is to train teachers to deliver well- rounded active learning lessons.
There have been many occasions where a teacher was not performing to meet the school’s
standards. One of my pre-school teachers was old school lecture style. This does not work with
three and four-year-olds. As a coach and mentor, I deciphered and critiqued all the strategies or
lack of strategies that were used. Even the lesser, I was able to point out some positives about the
activity. I presented an on-the-spot strategy using yarn to support a lesson on the five senses.
Showing her that all students should have yarn in their hands and lead an exuberating Q&A of
what they observe. Although walking into a class full of little ones just sitting there with no
engagement , I entered with a smile on my face and words of encouragement that set the stage
for the teacher to reflect on her performance and see it as a positive learning and growing
moment. This was an ongoing issue with this teacher. Nonetheless, I continued to find the
positives by having a positive attitude myself. It is true that people are influenced by what they
are shown not what they are told.

How do we differ in expressing our respective positive attitudes? How are we

the same in expressing positivity?

I believe that how our positive attitudes are expressed depends on the matter at hand. The
workplace and family are too different environments. If you are encouraging your brother or
sister to do post graduate studies, you are influencing them to take a step to benefit their future.
But at work , your positive attitude may be more challenging when you are trying to persuade a
colleague to produce more when there are no monetary rewards involved.
Our positive attitudes may only be to help someone get to a better place emotionally or
professionally. I think as a norm, we all use strong words of encouragement with positive vibes
that lifts a person’s confidence in all matters of life.

What is a negative attitude? 

I do not like negative thinking or negative people. Negative attitudes weigh people
down and produce unhealthy relationships in all aspects of life. It is my opinion
that sour, bitter and discouraging influences are a result of negative attitudes. This
can cause an unbalanced life.

If you have a negative attitude, what actions might you display? 

How does your communication look like? 

If I display a negative attitude , it is almost always seen by my facial expressions. Not

necessarily will I say negative words but more of questions with a negative tone. For an example,
at work we are given twenty-one days annual leave which must be taken during the school
summer vacation. Recently I was given a paper of two different time slots of when to take
vacation days. After I made my reservations to visit my family in the US, my boss comments,
“ Oh , you are extending your time?” The company that owns the school decided to close the
school for three weeks in July for maintenance and they will apply everyone’s annual paid
leave during those days. This was not mentioned nor written on the paper that we all signed. My
reservations are not during the specified time. My tone of aggravation was very clear and full of
disappointment. I expressed my concerns and opinions to my boss. Nonetheless, my body
language and looks of frustration exuded negative vibes. Tone of voice and body language speak
loudly. Unfortunately, there is not much that can be done other than change my reservations. I
will take an extended vacation.

What does a negative attitude “look” like to others?

I do believe that to many people, negative attitudes is seen as someone being difficult. Always
looking at the downside of things. A negative attitude I think can be an excuse to not do
something that is expected like avoiding things because of laziness. Moreover, negativity is
sometimes a result of a person’s lack of fulfillment. An unsatisfactory job, relationship or life
stressors cause people to have negative attitudes. Furthermore, negative words, facial expressions
and negative body language definitely exhibit a challenge to those who are always positive .
 
How would you teach others to be more enthusiastic and motivated?

As much as I try my best of influencing others to be positive, it is usually very

challenging. In my experiences, enthusiasm comes from within oneself. It is part of
a person’s personality. They are enthusiastic because they are positive people
naturally. Moreover, motivation stems from positivity and enthusiasm. Learning by
example ,leading by showing and coaching with heartfelt words will make a
difference. However, how much of a difference depends on the persons character.
If they do not possess these qualities, you cannot expect good vibes. Some people
are prone to be downers and see every glass, bottle, and bucket, half empty.
Which exercise from the NVC document would you choose to teach a group of
people? Why?

I would choose exercise #4 Feelings. In any environment, there are multitudes of

emotions. We are fueled by our feelings which in turn affects our emotions. Why
do we have feelings of happiness, sadness or anger? Life around us influences our
feelings. It is important to learn how to control feelings of anger to avoid any
unacceptable behavior.
I would teach people how to control their own feelings to be able to help others
with theirs. Asking why are you sad or angry? How can you change what caused
those feelings. It is important the people understand what is causing them to feel
this way. Expectations are not met, experiencing a loss, health issues and the like
can cause a whirlwind of feeling. People need to be taught how to deal with the
stressors that cause these feelings. A group gathering would be one of the best
strategies with Q&A, sharing experiences and just listening to one another to help
support how they are feeling and finding solutions. These exercises would aid in
non-violent communication. One to one discourse offers many benefits as well in
combating difficult feelings and achieving positive outcomes. Our feelings have a
significant impact on how we live our lives, personally and professionally.

References
Smith,E.(2021,Decener 22).What is a Positive Attitude? HealthyPlace.Retrieved
on 2022 May2 from https://healthyplace.com/self-help/positivity/what-is-a-
postive-attitude